Increasingly, businesses from farms to retailers are under pressure to reduce the environmental and social impact of growing produce and processed food. Here are five challenges we face in 2017 and beyond.

Illegal bounty from the sea

Americans love seafood, consuming nearly 5bn lbs of it in 2015 and importing as much as 90% of the edible sea creatures they buy. Shrimp, canned tuna and salmon are the top choices. While this can create great economic opportunities, it also leads to poaching, slavery and other problems.

The good news is consumers are demanding more sustainably caught and produced seafood than ever before, prompting big retailers such as Walmart, McDonald’s and Whole Foods to sell fish that’s been sustainably caught. These changes in preference have forced fishing fleets and seafood wholesalers to change how they catch fish, reduce bycatch and treat laborers fairly.

In the tuna-rich waters off Palau, for example, the Nature Conservancy has dispatched scientists to show fishermen the benefit of using fishing hooks that can reduce catching unwanted or protected species. Palau, Soloman Islands and Asian countries also plan to experiment with using artificial intelligence to identify illegal catch.

Coming up with alternatives to conventional fish food is another major industry wide effort to preserve a healthy fish population. Fish farming is a major source of seafood – the World Bank predicts that nearly two-thirds of the fish consumed by 2030 will be raised rather than wild caught. Fish farms usually use feed made with wild-caught fish. They will also see more options for feed that’s made with insects like black soldier flies.